Soft and chewy with that trademark homemade flavor, these are the best soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Made with brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, chewy oats, sweet raisins, and a secret ingredient, this recipe wins for flavor and texture. Your family will love these easy oatmeal raisin cookies!
There are two types of people in this world. Raisin haters and raisin lovers. I fall into the latter category. Besides homemade apple pie, oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite dessert. There’s something incredibly magical about the chewy texture, soft centers, plump raisins, and cinnamon flavor. Please tell me I’m not the only raisin lover!!
What Makes These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies The Best
The competition is strong, but here’s why you’ll fall in love with these cookies.
- Moist and tender centers
- Slight crisp on the edges
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Loaded with oats
- Studded with raisins
- Cinnamon spiced
- Buttery flavor
- 30 minute chill time
It doesn’t get much better than this!
Ingredients in Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal raisin cookies are made with very basic ingredients.
- Butter: Butter is the base of any delicious cookie recipe. Make sure you are using room temperature butter.
- Brown Sugar + Granulated Sugar: Sugar is not only used for sweetness, but also for providing structure and tenderness. I like to use more brown sugar than white sugar because (1) brown sugar has incredible flavor and (2) brown sugar contains more moisture than white, which produces a softer cookie.
- Eggs: Eggs help bind everything together. You need 2 eggs in this recipe.
- Pure Vanilla Extract + Salt: Both provide flavor.
- Cinnamon: Raisins, oats, and cinnamon are winning flavor combination.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise.
- Molasses: Molasses is my secret ingredient! 1 scant Tablespoon enhances all the wonderful flavors of these buttery, cinnamon-sweet oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Flour: Flour is the structure of the cookies.
- Oats: There are a ton of oats in this recipe! Oats provide a fabulously chewy texture. I use and recommend old fashioned whole oats here—just like I do for flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
- Raisins: I love to soak the raisins in warm water before using. This step is optional, but it guarantees they are plump and soft. Blot dry before adding to cookie dough. (You can also use this cookie dough to make my white chocolate chip cherry oatmeal cookies.)
I like to add chopped walnuts. Nuts are totally optional but highly recommended. These simple ingredients combine to make the best oatmeal raisin cookies!
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
There’s only a few steps between now and a batch of warm oatmeal cookies. 🙂
- Cream butter + sugars: Use a hand or stand mixer to cream the softened butter with both sugars until smooth, about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add eggs, vanilla, + molasses: Add eggs, then mix on high for about 1 minute until incorporated. Add vanilla and molasses, mix until combined.
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a separate bowl. Pour this into the wet ingredients. Combine together on low.
- Add the extras: Beat in the oats and raisins on low speed. Dough will be thick and sticky.
- Chill: Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30-60 minutes.
- Roll: Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a lined baking sheet. I love using these baking mats.
- Bake: Bake the cookies at 350°F (177°C) for 12-13 minutes until lightly browned. The cookies might look under-baked, but they will continue to set as they cool. This is the secret to a soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookie!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough is Sticky
This oatmeal raisin cookie dough is sticky, so don’t be alarmed. The cookie dough needs to chill for about 30 minutes before baking. I don’t recommend keeping this cookie dough in the refrigerator for much longer because your cookies won’t spread. The oats will begin to absorb all of the wonderful moisture from the eggs, butter, and sugar and won’t expand as they bake. Sticky dough is good dough!
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these oatmeal raisin cookies, try any of these SOFT cookie recipes. You’ll wonder why you haven’t baked them sooner!
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Scotchies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft & Thick Monster Cookies
- Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 26-30 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and chewy with that trademark homemade flavor, these are the best soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Your family will love these easy oatmeal raisin cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 1 cup (140g) raisins (see Note below)
- optional: 1/2 cup (64g) chopped toasted walnuts
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the eggs and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in the oats, raisins, and walnuts (if using) on low speed. Dough will be thick, yet very sticky. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator (do the full hour if you’re afraid of the cookies spreading too much). If chilling for longer (up to 2 days), allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. I recommend using a cookie scoop since the dough can be sticky. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft and under-baked. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to “set” on the baking sheet during this time.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Baked cookies freeze well—up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well—up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Oats: For these oatmeal raisin cookies, I use old-fashioned whole oats. They provide the ultimate hearty, chewy, thick texture we love!
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs preferred. Good rule of thumb: always use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter.
- Raisins: Soak your raisins in warm water for 10 minutes before using (blot very well to dry them) – this makes them nice and plump for your cookies.
- Adapted from Loaded Oatmeal Cookies & Oatmeal Creme Pies. Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2014.
Reader Comments and Reviews
How big are the cookies? What is the size of the cookie scoop? Can you use 1 stick of butter with olive oil instead of the 2 sticks of butter?
Hi Ben, We use about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. If using a cookie scoop we use the medium size (linked above in step 4 of the recipe). I recommend sticking to all butter as you need a solid ingredient to cream with the sugar. Solid coconut oil could work instead.
Sally I am 7 years old. And I made this recipe all by myself 2 times for my Grandpa and my mom’s cousin! I use your recipes all the time. They’re awesome!!! my favorite part of cookies is rolling out the dough! sometimes I on purposely eat the dough.
Sally I am 7 years old. And I made this recipe all by myself 2 times for my Grandpa and my mom’s cousin! I use your recipes all the time. They’re awesome!!! my favorite part of cookies is rolling out the dough! sometimes I on purposely eat the dough.
I tried it today, actually I still have some in the oven.
I did try one and OMG these are amazingly good !!!!
I did put walnuts in it and instead of molasses I used honey.
Really such an amaying recipe thank you so much
These cookies were perfect, not flat and nice and chewy. I made them without raisins, but added walnuts.
OMG, these are the most amazing cookies, I believe the molasses is what’s makes them extra special
Cut the sugar in half and these were a total hit with my kids and husband. Wonderful recipe that I will make many more times I’m sure!
This is my go-to recipe whenever we crave something sweet, warm and comforting. Works beautifully every single time
I don’t have parchment paper. Should I grease the pans?
If they are not nonstick pans, I would lightly grease them.
If you use chopped nuts, don’t forget to toast them after chopping. After chopping, spread the nuts in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with silicon or parchment paper. It helps if the sheet has a rim. Bake eight minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool while you make the cookie dough, then add to dough.
I bake for the 2-man crew that cleans my yard every other week. This is one of their favorite cookies.
These were perfect oatmeal raisin cookies!
Easy recipe to follow, amazing cookies. You won’t be able to have just one, I promise!
Was looking for a chewy oatmeal cookie, these looked so good, so I gave them and try……oh man everyone went crazy over them. I couldn’t believe when I was asked where I bought them from . Have some baking now!
Hi! I’m a mother of 4 & have been cooking since I was 6 yrs old. My mother (Sally) & I both lead cooks at our local senior centers & we’re always looking for a good recipe. We happened to stumble upon your site on one of our recipe searches & fell in love! We have never had a problem in any of the makings. The wonderful recipes & the name of course ha made your site is our secret go to treasure. Thank you very much for your time & efforts!
P.S. I boil my raisins for 5 min & drain before I incorporate them in my cookie dough. There the very last thing I put in. Makes the cookies ever more tender.
By far the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever made , and I’ve made alot. For those of you who couldn’t make these right….. So simple. You must follow the recipe and you have to read the recipe makers notes. Very important that you read thoroughly before attempting to make a baking recipe.
Delicious! I made these yesterday and they turned out beautifully. I followed the notes and soaked my raisins for 10 minutes, then blotted them dry. I used light brown sugar and old fashioned rolled oats. I weighed my ingredients. I also froze some of the dough balls by putting them on a parchment lined baking sheet for an hour and then I popped them into a freezer bag with a label that includes the recipe name/author/baking temperature and my baking time. Mine were done in 13 minutes with the sides starting to brown and the tops looking a little under baked. After they sat and cooled on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, the tops set perfectly. These are delicious. Thank you for another great recipe Sally!
Just wondering about scaling up the size of the cookies. I would like to make “giant” size cookies. Like 1/4 -1/3 cup of cookie dough per cookie. can this recipe handle the size with out spreading 1/2 way across baking sheet? What about cook time suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Robin, that should work just fine. I’m unsure of the best bake time for that size cookie, but once the edges appear set, they’re done.
I’ve been waiting for years to see Famous Amos oatmeal cookies stage a come back with no lock. Well, this recipe from Sally’s better than Amos’: Yes much better. The cookies are snappy at the edge, gummy in the middle, chewy under the teeth, and occasionally crunchy with the walnuts. Eating one of those is like experiencing a kaleidoscope with your palate.
These tasted good, no doubt. I can’t say that I like them more than other oatmeal cookies that don’t have to be refrigerated before baking.
This review is 1) for my future self should I forget how they tasted and 2) for those of you who, like me, scoured the reviews searching for steel oats comments in hopes of using some in this recipe. Here goes…
1) I’ve made this recipe three times. Twice with old-fashioned oats and craisins. The third time with Bob’s Red Mill QUICK COOKING Steel Cut Oats. You know…the giant bag you get at Costco and it only takes 7 minutes to cook.
2) These cookies (as mentioned by Sally) are much better using old-fashioned oats. They are chewy, gooey, delicious goodness cookies using old-fashioned. They are SO GOOD (thank you, Sally).
3) If all you have are Bob’s quick cooking steel oats you can use them in a pinch. They will have more texture and not be as smooth. Crunchy almost. But are they still edible? Yes. A few things I did: making them the night before and letting the dough sit almost 12 hours in the fridge. I didn’t soak the raisins either. And in efforts to reduce my use of plastics I skipped the Saran Wrap and put a plate on my bowl while it sat in the fridge. Only reason I mention this is it was not air right and idk…would it have dried out the dough a bit? Idk. Everything else was followed to the T. I didn’t soak the oats, nothing like that.
If possible you really should use old-fashioned as these cookies are just incredibly delicious. The molasses really is a great addition to the cookies. But like ai said, this review is for those of you who really only have steel cut and are curious as to whether you can use them or not. Good luck and happy baking!
Made this and everyone at home loved it..it had that rich butterfly flavour with the crunchy outer and chewy and moist inside ..It’s an addiction…
I made these today. Delicious! I used Becel margarine since I didn’t have enough butter and was a little nervous since the batter seemed a little too creamy. I put the batter in the fridge as the recipe says and they turned out fine. Soft and chewy, just perfect! Will definitely make these again.
Hello. This is my first time making this recipe. While next time I plan on adding just a little bit more sugar, everything else is very straight forward and easy to follow. I do have one question for anybody who has baked oatmeal cookies before: my oats are a little bit on the crunchy side, almost feels like they were not cooked. Throws off the texture of the cookie a bit. Any advice for next time I bake them?
Hi Dina, What type of oats are you using? We highly recommend sticking with old-fashioned whole oats for the best texture.
I just made them and they are really good!! Thank you for sharing your recipe with me..I will definitely be making these again
Comment is above… I forgot the star rating
One week ago, I baked these cookies for the first time. One cookie was left and hubby was hesitant to take the last one. I got the hint. The dough is now chilling for the new batch. I bake mine for only 11 minutes. I use the 1T scoop and I heap it up. I bake only one sheet at a time using a parchment lined 1/2 sized hotel baking sheet pan. The cookies seem to bake more evenly. To store, I use a cookie crock with a silicone seal lid. I place a coffee filter in the bottom of the crock – and I place coffee filters between the layers of cookies as well. If I ever have any left over, I will freeze them using the coffee filters but will place them in a plastic bowl with sealing lid. Thank you for sharing.
These ste indeed the best oatmeal cookie I’ve tasted. The flavor reminds me of the Oatmeal Cookies of my youth. When I bite onto those warm cookies I find myself closing my eyes and just savoring every chewy bite. I now by 3 boxes of Old Fashioned Oats, 1 for breakfast, and 2 for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Thanks for sharing this marvelous recipe.
Great recipe. I added one tablespoon of flax seed and it was unnoticeable.
I’m glad I soaked the raisins in warm water. Made them nice and plump and not so tough. Delicious! Will definitely make again. Everyone loves them!
The cookies are very good. I grinder oatmeal for my flour -I put in cranberries no raisins-two handful of walnuts and no eggs substituted extra baking soda (vegan style) it was very very delicious, everybody gave it all thumbs up. Also, put in one small banana for moisture.
My family can’t get enough of these cookies. I have made more than 3 batches this month. I added coconut to half of the batter per request by my daughter. Yummy
Addiction is the right name for this…the best recipe …
Make them every week.. can’t get enough. Never any left over. Perfection!! Like to add coconut..dried cranberries. Awesome! I give away a lot and have many requests for more.
How much coconut did you add? Did you changed the amount of raisins. I will like to add coconut too. I have dried coconuts
I compared your oatmeal cookies and the Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from the Quaker Oats boxtop and noticed you had double the butter. Instead of 1 stick, you called for 2 sticks. Could you tell me what your reasoning was? I’m cooking them now…..might find out after I taste them???
Hi Kathy, We haven’t made that exact recipe but these particularly cookies stay wonderfully stoft with a deliciously buttery flavor! Let us know what you think after you try them!
Yes, they were wonderfully soft with a buttery flavor, but I couldn’t enjoy them as much because I thought of all that saturated fat clogging my veins. Thin bakers will love them better. (A cup of butter for 24 cookies, yikes)